Congress made several changes to retirement plans as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which recently passed both the House and Senate. The final bill contains several provisions affecting retirement plans...more
Employers sponsoring 401(k) or other types of defined contribution plans “pre-approved” by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should be aware that the restatement deadline is quickly approaching. The IRS requires pre-approved...more
Section 405 of the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) provides for joint liability for co-fiduciaries of a pension, health or welfare benefit plan. ...more
On November 4, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2021-61, which sets forth the 2022 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. The...more
11/8/2021
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
COLA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
HDHPs ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”) into law. Many of the provisions in this sweeping legislation bring changes to the employee benefits world of which employers should...more
4/1/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Insurance ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Credits
Generally, for a tax qualified retirement plan to be adopted, the plan document must be signed and dated by the sponsoring employer and retained. However, in Val Lanes Recreation Center Corp. v. Commissioner of Internal...more
12/27/2019
/ Burden of Proof ,
Determination Letter ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPCRS ,
ESOP ,
Failure to Produce ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Plan Documents ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Liability ,
Voluntary Correction Program
On February 21, 2019 attorneys for Andrew Wong, a participant in the T-Mobile USA Inc. 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan & Trust, filed a class action complaint in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts against FMR LLC,...more
3/13/2019
/ 401k ,
Class Action ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
Kickbacks ,
Management Fees ,
Mutual Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
T-Mobile
HHS Announces Significant Settlement Agreements for Noncompliance -
On December 4 and December 11, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued press releases...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the 2019 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. ...more
11/9/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs)
IRS Annual Limits on Qualified Plans for 2019 By Jeffrey P. Cairns -
The Internal Revenue Service has released the 2019 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified...more
11/7/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Social Security
On June 19, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule that offers new options for associations to sponsor health plans for their members. These new options allow more small businesses to come together to...more
6/22/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Association Health Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements
On June 19, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule that offers new options for associations to sponsor health plans for their members. These new options allow more small businesses to come together to...more
On April 3, 2018, The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a summary judgment decision against Susan Wengert who had sued the plan administrative committee of the Majors Plastics ESOP, the personal representative of the...more
On October 12, 2017 President Trump issued an Executive Order concerning a number of health plan market initiatives. One of the items included in the Executive Order was a directive to the Secretary of Labor to issue proposed...more
1/8/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Association Health Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Orders ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
In past articles in this Blog I reported on decisions of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with a class action for breach of fiduciary duty for selecting retail mutual funds in...more
This week, new U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Acosta announced that the final fiduciary regulations would go into effect on June 9, 2017. The Department also issued two pieces of guidance with regard to the regulations...more
5/25/2017
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan
On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against Christine Bodouva that her restoration of funds to her Company’s 401(k) Plan should be offset against the District Court’s order for forfeiture...more
On February 23, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service issued a “Memorandum for Employee Plans (EP) Examinations Employees,” outlining Substantiation Guidelines for safe harbor hardship distributions from 401(k) plans...more
Last June I blogged about the trend of participant fee class actions moving down to smaller 401(k) Plans. Occasionally, class actions are brought based on other breaches of fiduciary duties, particularly those involving...more
10/25/2016
/ 401k ,
Adverse Employment Action ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Markets ,
Florida ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Retaliation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
A Minneapolis law firm recently filed a class action complaint against Lamettry’s Collision, Inc. and the Trustees of its 401(k) Plan, CFO Stephen Daniel and President Joan Lamettry for various breaches of fiduciary duty with...more
Since its availability, many 401(k) plan sponsors, particularly smaller employers have adopted a “Safe Harbor” plan design under Code Section 401(k)(12) or (13) and 401(m)(11) or (12). Safe Harbor plan designs include both a...more
On November 23, 2015 the U.S. Tax Court issued a declaratory judgment that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) did not abuse its discretion in issuing a Letter of Revocation of the tax qualified status of the Fleming...more
On November 9, 2015, Minnesota Federal District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ruled that the president and CEO of Faribault Woolen Mills Company breached his fiduciary duties under ERISA by diverting Employee health insurance...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the 2016 cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans and health savings accounts, which are largely...more
10/26/2015
/ 401k ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
ESOP ,
HDHP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
The Internal Revenue Service has released the 2016 cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans and health savings accounts, which are largely unchanged...more